Mississippi Elementary School Named After Confederate President To Be Renamed After Barack Obama

A Mississippi elementary school is changing its name to honor former President Barack Obama.

In a report from local paper The Clarion-Ledger, Davis IB Elementary School in Jackson, Mississippi, which is named after Confederate President Jefferson Davis, will be changing its name to honor the 44th President of the United States. The decision was announced Tuesday night, with the name change taking effect next school year.

“Jefferson Davis, although infamous in his own right, would probably not be too happy about a diverse school promoting the education of the very individuals he fought to keep enslaved being named after him,” Janelle Jefferson, president of the school’s PTA, said in a statement.

Jefferson added that the school community wanted to rename the campus “to reflect a person who fully represents ideals and public stances consistent with what we want our children to believe about themselves.”

The elementary school’s enrollment is 97 percent black.

Recently, Obama selected Kehinde Wiley to paint his official portrait. The Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery made the announcement earlier this week. The portraits are scheduled to be unveiled sometime in 2018. Back in August also came the announcement that Illinois would be celebrating “Barack Obama Day.” The state holiday will be celebrated across Illinois on August 4 (Obama’s birthday) every year starting in 2018.

The bill states that the holiday will be “observed throughout the State as a day set apart to honor the 44th President of the United States of America who began his career serving the People of Illinois in both the Illinois State Senate and the United States Senate, and dedicated his life to protecting the rights of Americans and building bridges across communities.”